Information on an EU Commission proposal that has been leaked to the signing organisations shows once again how undemocratic EU trade policy can be. Indeed, the EC is proposing to split the EU-Mexico Global Agreement in three parts: Political and Cooperation; Investment agreement; and Trade Agreement. Splitting the agreement will allow for faster ratification by greater democratic deficit: the parliaments of the member states will not be asked for approval of the trade part of the agreement anymore.

Civil society letter of concern on the occasion of the 2nd round of negotiations for an EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)

The Institute for Policy Studies and Transnational Institute welcome the Dutch trade minister’s call for a reset of trade negotiations to better link the trade and investment agenda to equitable and sustainable development objectives. At the same time, we urge all stakeholders involved in the EU-Mexico FTA negotiations to replace the current far-reaching liberalisation and deregulation agenda with an agreement that regulates investment in accordance with human rights, social standards, environmental protection, climate conservation and other sustainable development objectives as overriding principles. Read the letter, which includes our concerns and recommendations, below:

Civil society organisations strongly urge countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to reject the investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause in the agreement.